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From t08o@unb.ca Tue Mar 5 15:52:58 PST 1996
Article: 26145 of alt.revisionism
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From: t08o@unb.ca (MORRISON KEITH MURRAY)
Newsgroups: alt.revisionism
Subject: Moran, Master of Military Minutia Screws Up...again
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 17:55:30 GMT
Organization: University of New Brunswick
Lines: 130
Message-ID:
NNTP-Posting-Host: geol02.novlab.unb.ca
Summary: Moran has no idea what he is talking about. Oh, the surprise.
Keywords: Zyklon-B, Moran, Chemical Weapons, Gassing
Recently Tom "Granite Boy" Moran posted a message about German chemical
weapons, dumped into the ocean after the war by the Allies, being the source
of a potential disaster. Somewhere amidst the rambling sentences he made
the common denier claim: why did the Germans use Zyklon-B instead of other,
more effective chemicals that they had access to. Using MoranLogic(tm) this
means that since they did not use the most effective chemical to do the
deed, they did not do the deed.
I have sitting in front of me _Military Chemical and Biological Agents,
Chemical and Toxicological Properties_ by James A.F. Compton, published by
The Telford Press in 1987. It lists the known Chemical Warfare agents and
those that have actually been used. Let us take a look at what Compton has
to say about the chemicals available to the Nazis during the period in
question.
Note that I am omitting biological agents and those designed to incapacitate
like tear gas. The biologicals would have been too difficult to handle (as
the British so ably demonstrated with anthrax off the coast of Scotland) and
the other agents would not have been very useful for killing people.
Each chemical will be listed with its STANAG (Standard Nato Agreement) code
and its common name.
STANAG common developed negatives
HD distilled mustard 1880s -persisting
-cumulative
-full protective clothing needed
-heavier than air
MD methyldichloroarsine 1890s -heavier than air
-persistant in buildings
PD phenyldichloroarsine 1917 -not as lethal as regular mustard
-heavier than air
-highly persistant
ED ethyldichloroarsine 1917 -heavier than air
-full protective clothing needed
-very destructive to rubber and plastic
L Lewisite 1918 -heavier than air
-very persistant in cold weather
-full protective clothing required
-cumulative
HN-1 nitrogen mustard one 1920s -HN-1 somewhat less toxic
HN-2 " " two -heavier than air
HN-3 " " three -full protective clothing needed
-persistant
-HN-2 unstable in storage
AC hydrogen cyanide(HCN) 1800s -burns easier than other CW gasses
-unstable after a few years storage
CK chlorine cyanide 1800s -not as toxic as AC
-heavier than air
-unstable in storage over a month
SA arsine 1250 -heavier than air
-highly explosive
-must be stored in glass container
- chlorine ? -heavier than air
-low lethality
CG phosgene 1800s -heavier than air
-delayed lethal effects (up to 4 hours)
-persistant in structures
DP diphosgene 1918(?) -heavier than air
-cumulative
-most be stored in glass
GA tabun (nerve gas) 1937 -heavier than air
-persistant
-liquid
-full protective clothing required
-decontamination using chlorine bleaches
creates HCN
-cumulative
note: 12 000 tons produced at Dyhernfurth-am-Ober, most destroyed
in 1944-45 to avoid capture by Allies. German codenames
were Gelan, Stoff-83 and Trilon-83. Existance was classified
secret
GB sarin (nerve gas) 1938 -heavier than air
-full protective clothing required
-cumulative
note: small experimental production until 1944-45 at Dyhernfurth.
Dedicated factory captured by Soviets before completion in
1945 at Falkenhagen. Existance classified secret.
Given the regular CW agents, AC (hydrogen cyanide) is ideal for use in
enclosed conditions because it is lighter than air and thus easier to
ventilate. It decomposes rapidly, no decontamination is required and the
person standing outside inserting it into the chamber need only wear a gas
mask. As well it was already being commercially produced as Zyklon-B, thus
was readily available. The others were not being produced in commercial
quantities in addition to their other inherent problems.
On the other hand, while tabun and sarin are a great deal deadlier they are
harder to handle (full protective gear), harder to get rid of and were just
developed, classified as being secret projects and not (in the case of
sarin) present in quantity. Zyklon-B, while not as deadly, was more
available and was not classified. No one would think twice about boxes of
pest killer being shipped around. Also, in the event of a spill the Zyklon-
B could be easily picked up by people with gas masks and gloves whereas
there would be no way to clean up the nerve gas (transported as a liquid),
the spill of which would be absolutely deadly to their own troops who did
not have full protective gear.
Finally, should someone be accidently exposed to the gas, Zyklon-B can be
recovered from as the body detoxifies it rapidly (.017 mg/kg body weight
per minute) if the dose is not lethal with no permanent damage. On the
other hand the nerve gasses usually, if not lethal, create permanent
neurological damage and are cumulative; any further exposure makes it more
likely to be lethal.
All in all AC (hydrogen cyanide in the form of Zyklon-B) would seem to be
an extremely practical chemical to use in the mass murder of people
indoors in a dedicated gas chamber. Thus Moran demonstrates once again he
has no idea what he is talking about.
--
Keith Morrison
t08o@unb.ca

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